Garment



Nov. 21, 1950 M. R. FARRINGTON GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1947 INVENTOR. flag 071e fa f/ZWZWL Nov. 21, 1950 FARRINGTQN 2,530,606

GARMENT Filed Aug. 29, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 21, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT Marjorie R. Farrington, Waukegan, Ill. Application August 29, 1947, Serial No. 771,257

3 Claims. (01. 269.'5)

My invention relates to garments and includes among its objects and advantages the provision of a sleeping garment for small children, of eX- ceptional safety and comfort and a very wide range of adjustment.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of a garment according to the invention with the armpit girdle held open to show the construction more clearly;

Figure 2 is a section on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the girdle partly contracted by the drawstrings; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view with the girdle further contracted and tied.

In the embodiment of the invention selected for illustration, the garment comprises a lower rectangular bag portion Hi and an upper slightly tapered bag portion i2. Laid out flat, the side edges of the bag portion 52 would be in some such position as the dotted lines M in Figure l. The upper bag portion [2 is completely bifurcated up the back, and the edges of the opening are equipped with zipper fasteners [6 adapted to be engaged and disengaged by the closure slide it.

At the top of the bag portion 12, I provide a simple strengthening hem 20 covering substantially one-third of the periphery of the top girdle defined by the hem portion and tubular portions 22 and 24 on either side of the hem portion 23. Each of these tubular portions, when not puckered up, is of substantially the same length as the hem portion 20. The portions 22 and 24 house drawstrings 26 and 28 with the inner ends of the drawstrings fastened to the girdle at the ends of the hem portion 20.

The shoulder straps 3!! and 32 have their front ends connected to the hem 26 on the opposite sides of the center line, and the space between the points of attachment is substantially onethird of the hem portion. Each strap terminates in a plurality of loops 34.

Suitable means are provided for fastening the garment to a crib or other bed structure in such a way that the child is permitted a maximum of freedom of movement but effectively prevented from climbing out or falling off its bed even when the bed has no side guards. I have illustrated bottom corner tapes 35 at the extreme lower corners of the back portions It and side tapes 38 at the upper corners of the lower bag portion In.

In a strict sense, the bag can hardly be considered to be a garment because it is intended to engage the body of the child only by drawing the girdle around the childs body just at the z.

armpits, and holding the girdle from slipping down by means of straps 30 and 32. Thus, in hot weather, the child need have nothing on his body other than the customary diaper and can turn around when awake or asleep with a great deal of freedom.

One convenient way to use the garment is to open the zipper wide and lay the child face down with the hem 2%] level with the armpits and the head between the tapes 30 and 32. Then the drawstring is tightened enough to hold the child in position a little and the tapes are carried over the shoulders and the drawstrings are threaded through them and tied to complete the assembly. The zipper [8 may be drawn up at any time during this procedure.

.The use of a plurality of loops 34 provides for variation in the size 'of the garment to fit the child. Variations much smaller than that secured by changing one tape or both from the upper to the lower loop or vice versa take care of themselves almost automatically merely by drawing the drawstrings a little snugger or leaving them a little looser. However, a very particular person can secure further slight variations by tying the knot 40 between the ends of the tapes, or beside the ends of the tapes as indicated in Figure l, or even by crossing the tapes behind the childs back with the knot tied between the ends of the tapes. In normal use with normal children, none of these relatively fine or extreme adjustments are necessary, but it is possible for a person who is meticulous about just how the garment fits to vary the fit in the manner outlined.

It is also convenient, especially when the child is strong and vigorous, to form one round-thethread half knot with the drawstrings before passing the drawstrings between the loops on the tapes. This not only helps restrain the child while putting on the garment, but after the assembly is complete, it provides a more secure fastening.

The garment should be placed on the child with the zipper and knot at the back so that these parts are substantially inaccessible to the child. However, after the assembly is completed, the child has aremarkable degree of freedom to move about and to lie in any one of a large number of difierent positions in entire comfort. Thus the smallest child on whom the garment is ordinarily used will have his feet above the level of the side draw strings so that he can stand up inside the garment and play around even if the side drawstrings have relatively little slack, measuring across the bed between them. A child 3 of that size can and frequently will roll over in either direction and lie on his side or his back and frequently crossways of the bed or crib. The bag is made of soft yielding cloth and a turn from the initial position completely over to a position lying face up, merely makes a simple fold in the side of the bag away from which the child has turned.

When the child has grown materially larger it is only necessary to tie the upper tapes 38 with a little more slack or to even completely untie them, and on account of the larger size of the.

child there will still be a suitable freedom of movement accompanied by as much restraint as a child of that size needs.

The foregoing discussion has been with reference to use of the bag in an ordinary crib. The garment, however, is especially convenient when circumstances require that a child sleep on a couch or day bed, or other bed which has no side guards. Then it is only necessary to tie another piece of tape or cord to the end of one of the tapes 38 and pass it across under the day bed or couch. Such a tie should be drawn relatively snug because of the absence of side guards. On a bed so wide that it is inconvenient to reach under it, a short extension can be tied to each of the side tapes 38 and attached to the side rails of the bed.

The preferred dimensions for the bag are about 68 inches around the bottom and 20 inches high for the lower square portion. The upper portion is also 2.0 inches high. The front of the upper portion tapers from 13 inches at the top to 34 inches at the bottom, being out out in this shape by cutting. away a triangular portion on each side. This results in a seam at the position indicated at 42, in Figure 1. The bag may conveniently be formed from a single piece of material 36 inches wide and about 81 inches long to provide about two inches for the hems at the top with a final height of about 79 inches. When thus formed there is no seam along the bottom but a seam runsup each side of the lower bag portion as indicated at 24 in Figure l. The uncut edges of the back are united to the tapered edges of the front along the seamlines 42, and this provides a desirable degree of fullness in the back of the garment at the top, The fullness thus provided is slightly reduced by turning in the cloth on either side of the zipper I6. At the upper edge the cloth is turned in an inch and then the double thickness is turned in again another inch so that the fullness at the top is reduced by four inches and the double hem provides extra strength in the material exactly where it is needed. The turned under hem will use up two inches on each side of the zipper at the top but is reduced in width to nothing at the bottom of the bifurcation.

As distinguished from many of the earlier devices of this sort with which I have been familiar, the bag has some relatively unique advantages. The complete absence of restraint on movements within the scope of safety is so great for children of all sizes, even up to about three years old, that the child becomes accustomed to it quickly and seems to welcome its continued use. This is true even with-children who are introduced to it for the first time when they are already a year old, or more. In fact, it soon becomes such a familiar and relatively complete part of their sleeping environment that much less difficulty is encountered in getting a child to sleep in a strange .place when travelling or visiting.

A material contribution to this impression on the part of the child is that after the garment is completely assembled it is not necessary to disturb anything but the zipper to change the childs diapers.

Others may readily adapt the invention for use under various conditions of service by employing one or more of the novel features involved, or equivalents thereof. As at present advised with respect to the apparent scope of my invention, I desire to claim the following subject matter:

1. Infants bed clothing comprising, in combination: a cloth bag having square bottom corners and of materially greater overall longitudinal dimension than the portion of the infants body of largest size to be enclosed therein; said bag having a lower half portion of substantially constant transverse dimensions, and a uniformly tapered upper half portion; the upper end of said upper half portion being open; the edge of said open upper end being adapted to encircle the infants body just below the arms; said upper end including a centrally located flat breast portion long enough to extend substantially across the childs breast, and tubular hems extending from both ends of said fiat portion throughout the entire remaining extent of said upper edge; said hems terminating in opposed hem openings diametrically opposite the center of said breast portion; drawstring means in said hems; each drawstring having one end fastened near the adjacent end of said breast portion, and the other end freely protruding from the hem opening at the other end of its hem; whereby infants varying widely in size can be satisfactorily fitted by the same identical device, and in any size there is smooth cloth entirely across the breast for comfort When the child lies face down, and a small lump between the shoulder blades when the child lies face up; shoulder straps; each shoulder strap having a fixed end fastened at one end of said breast portion and the other end free; each shoulder strap having a plurality of spaced loops near its free end, adapted to receive a drawstring through one selected loop, whereby a range of sizes comparable with that included by the drawstring adjustment can also be accommodated by selection of the appropriate loops for the shoulder straps.

2. Infants bed clothing comprising, in combination: a cloth bag having a lower half of substantially constant transverse dimensions, and a uniformly tapered upper half; the upper end of said upper half bein open; the edge of said open upper end being adapted to encircle the infants body just below the arms; said upper end including a centrally located flat breast portion long enough to extend substantially across the childs breast, and tubular hems extending from both ends of said flat portion throughout the re maining extent of said upper edge; said hems terminating in opposed hem openings diametrically opposite the center of said breast portion; drawstring means in said hems; each drawstring having one end fastened near the adjacent end of said breast portion; and the other end freely protruding from the hem opening at the other end of its hem; whereby infants varyin widely in size can be satisfactorily fitted by the same identical device, and in any size there is smooth cloth entirely across the breast for comfort when the child lies face down, and a small lump be tween the shoulder blades when the child lies face up; shoulder straps; each shoulder strap having a fixed endfastened at one end of said breast portion and the other end free; each shoulder strap having a plurality of spaced loops near its free end, adapted to receive a drawstring through one selected loop, whereby a range of sizes comparable with that included by the drawstring adjustment can also be accommodated by selection of the appropriate loops for the shoulder straps.

3. Infants bed clothing comprising, in combination: a cloth bag having a lower half of substantially constant transverse dimensions, and a uniformly tapered upper half; the upper end of said upper half being open; the edge of said open upper end being adapted to encircle the infants body just below the arms; said upper end including a centrally located flat breast portion long enough to extend substantially across the childs breast, and side portions adapted to be puckered and extending from both ends of said flat portion throughout the remaining extent of said upper edge; drawstring means for puckering said side portions; whereby infants varying widely in size can be satisfactorily fitted by the same identical device, and in any size there is smooth cloth entirely across the breast for comfort when the child lies face down, and a small lump between the shoulder blades when the child lies face up; shoulder straps; each shoulder strap 6 having a fixed end fastened at one end of said breast portion and the other end free; each shoulder strap having a plurality of spaced loops near its free end, adapted to receive a drawstring through one selected loop, whereby a range of sizes comparable with that included by the drawstring adjustment can also be accommodated by selection of the appropriate loops for the shoulder straps.

MARJORIE R. FARRINGTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Nurnoer Name Date 1,079,798 Painter Nov. 25, 1913 1,767,842 Gehrke June 24, 1930 1,994,990 Flesh Mar. 19, 1935 2,115,398 Rosenthal Apr. 26, 1938 2,242,130 Hutchison May 13, 1941 2,292,600 Baum Aug. 11, 1942 2,442,192 Bookbinder May 25, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 210,068 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1940 

